I live in a 3 bed semi and have for the last 15 years. Recently switched to ovo and then had the smart meters installed .
My usage has crept up over the years like everyone's.
Now on OVO with smart meters and nothing has changed in my home my monthly usage/direct debit has gone to £246 a month that's a second mortgage any ideas why my bills have double since i switched to ovo?
Updated on 10/07/24 by Abby_OVO
Having a smart meter installed won't directly increase your costs. There are no hidden effects on usage, and your tariff won't change. There are two things that will change after getting a smart meter, though:
If you hadn't provided regular reading previously then your bills may have been under-estimated. As we’ll receive a final reading from the old meter when this is removed this could generate a larger than expected bill around the time your smart meters are installed. The good news is that now we’ll be receiving regular readings sent automatically from your meter when we need it you can be sure your bill is spot on. This avoids any nasty bill surprises in future.
The meter will clock accurately. Old meters can slow down, or even speed up meaning they're not measuring your energy usage correctly. We'd only expect to see this with very old meters. A brand new meter, smart or otherwise, will clock what you're using accurately.
It might be worth considering what else could have caused the increase to your monthly direct debit:
Another thing to consider is if you've renewed onto a new plan recently. The unit rates and standing charges will likely have changed from your previous plan. You can check the prices per Kwh and daily standing charge in the ‘Plan’ tab of your online account or OVO app (download for Android or iOS).
If you notice an increase to your suggested direct debit amount after getting a Smart meter installed it is worth checking out the other factors which are considered when we calculate your recommended direct debit amount. We not only consider your average monthly usage but also the current balance on your account or the length left on your contract, so it may be that you have an outstanding balance to repay or are coming to the end of your contract.
There is help available if you’re struggling to pay your energy bills – both from us here at OVO Energy and from government schemes and charities as well. There are many ways we can help – such as setting up a payment plan for you, which spreads the cost of your energy to make it more manageable. If you want to find out about payment plans, you can request one online here – we’ll take you through what you need to do, and ask you for some details. Our dedicated team is also specially trained to support you. They can make sure you’re receiving any financial assistance from the government that you’re eligible for, and take you through payment support schemes that are available.
You can find out more about these schemes and where to seek free, independent advice right here.
OVO member but not got a smart meter yet? - Book today!
Interested but not yet an OVO member? - Check out our plans!
I thin that summarises OVO - https://utilityweek.co.uk/ovo-tops-ukrn-list-for-complaints/
Ovo Energy received more complaints per 100,000 customers than any other supplier in the energy sector’s latest scorecard by the UK Regulators Networks (UKRN).
Beginning last year, UKRN publishes annual scorecards for four sectors: Energy, water, telecoms and finance.
The scorecards examine key consumer metrics covering service quality, price differentials and satisfaction levels.
Information in the scorecard for energy was collected by Ofgem in Q3 and Q4 2020 and compared to the same time in 2019, the total volume of complaints received by suppliers decreased.
Topping the list with 2,293 complaints per 100,000 in Q3 is Ovo Energy, which also includes the customers of SSE which it acquired in January last year, as well as those of Boost and Spark Energy.
I thin that summarises OVO - https://utilityweek.co.uk/ovo-tops-ukrn-list-for-complaints/
Ovo Energy received more complaints per 100,000 customers than any other supplier in the energy sector’s latest scorecard by the UK Regulators Networks (UKRN).
Beginning last year, UKRN publishes annual scorecards for four sectors: Energy, water, telecoms and finance.
The scorecards examine key consumer metrics covering service quality, price differentials and satisfaction levels.
Information in the scorecard for energy was collected by Ofgem in Q3 and Q4 2020 and compared to the same time in 2019, the total volume of complaints received by suppliers decreased.
Topping the list with 2,293 complaints per 100,000 in Q3 is Ovo Energy, which also includes the customers of SSE which it acquired in January last year, as well as those of Boost and Spark Energy.
Having posted on this forum for a few months this is what i have observed rather than anything scientific. So it may not be completely accurate.
OVO appear to have had more issues than they would have liked migrating customers from SSE to OVO. Most migrations have been fine, but too many have had issues, some have been slow to resolve it appears.
Also I wonder if OVO is careful enough on following up on issues generally raised by customers, particularly whether they are quick enough and whether they keep customers informed. It may be more issues result in complains as customers get rightly frustrated.
Review sites aren't a perfect proxy but OVO doesn't do bad in customer feedback although obviously there are some unhappy customers. This is a comparison of OVO vs Scottish Power for example.
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.ovoenergy.com
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.scottishpower.co.uk
Overall i have been very happy with OVO, albeit they are not perfect. But obviously some customers have had bigger issues.
This is not about customer satisfaction but about billing and something is definitely going on with their meters - like many others in this forum my problem started as soon as smart metre was installed. We can’t all be wrong and OVO right.
Please check out the thread below. I just found that my old meter was not deleted from records after the smart meter was installed, so my suplier thought I had two meters and was overcharging me. To be fair this was more the fault of the previous supplier who arranged for the smart meter to be installed, but regardless it was not easy to gather all the information and needed support from “experts” to identify the cause and convince the current supplier to probe deeper and confirm it was actually a problem and wipe a large amount from my bills.
I am now hoping to spread the word about this to pay forward the help I received from forum members!
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